Multisensory real-time feedback training putter

ABSTRACT

A golf club may include a control unit that detects a swing of the golf club and generates a signal based on at least one goal swing parameter during the swing of the golf club. The golf club may include a stimulation generation module, configured to generate a stimulation in response to the signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a non-provisional patent application of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/976,897, filed on Apr. 8, 2014, and entitled: “Multisensory real-time feedback training putter.” Accordingly, this non-provisional patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/976,897 under 35 U.S.C. §119(e). U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/976,897 is hereby incorporated in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

When playing golf, a club may be used to strike a golf ball to advance the location of the ball. The path and resting location of the ball after being struck by a club is highly dependent on the swing of the club. A swing of the club, commonly referred to as a stroke, is the dynamic motion of a player when striking the ball with the club. Improving the stroke of a player may improve his ability to control the path and resting location of the ball.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, a golf club according to one or more embodiments may include a control unit that detects a swing of the golf club and generates a signal based on at least one goal swing parameter during the swing of the golf club. The golf club may include a stimulation generation module, configured to generate a stimulation in response to the signal.

In one aspect, a method according to one or more embodiments may include generating a stimulation based on at least one goal swing parameter during a swing of a golf club.

In one aspect, a system according to one or more embodiments may include a golf club that determines, during a swing of the golf club, a tempo of a head of the golf club, a velocity of the head of the golf club, an angular velocity of the head of the golf club, a position of the head of the golf club, an orientation of the head of the golf club, and/or an acceleration of the head of the golf club. The golf club may send to a computing device, by a first communication module of the golf club, the tempo of the head of the golf club, velocity of the head of the golf club, angular velocity of the head of the golf club, position of the head of the golf club, orientation of the head of the golf club, and/or acceleration of the head of the golf club. The system may include a computing device that receives, by a second communication module of the computing device, the tempo of the head of the golf club, velocity of the head of the golf club, angular velocity of the head of the golf club, position of the head of the golf club, orientation of the head of the golf club, and/or acceleration of the head of the golf club. The computing device may store, in a memory of the computing device, the tempo of the head of the golf club, velocity of the head of the golf club, angular velocity of the head of the golf club, position of the head of the golf club, orientation of the head of the golf club, and/or acceleration of the head of the golf club. The computing device may display, on a display of the computing device, the tempo of the head of the golf club, velocity of the head of the golf club, angular velocity of the head of the golf club, position of the head of the golf club, orientation of the head of the golf club, and acceleration of the head of the golf club.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Certain embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the accompanying drawings illustrate only certain aspects or implementations of the invention by way of example and are not meant to limit the scope of the claims.

FIG. 1 shows a golf club in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a golf club and a computing device in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows a method for providing real-time feedback in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 4 shows a computing device in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 5 shows a method for displaying information in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows an example computing device in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Specific embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the following description, numerous details are set forth as examples of the invention. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that one or more embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without these specific details and that numerous variations or modifications may be possible without departing from the scope of the invention. Certain details known to those of ordinary skill in the art are omitted to avoid obscuring the description.

In general, embodiments of the invention relate to providing real-time feedback to a user, e.g., a golfer, to aid in performing a stroke. The real-time feedback may be based on one or more swing parameters of a stroke. The swing parameters may include the tempo of the stroke, path of the club head during the stroke, location of impact of the ball on the club head, and/or angle of impact of the club head with the ball. In one embodiment, a tempo may be the acceleration profile of the club head during a stroke. The swing parameters may include other parameters without departing from the invention. The aforementioned swing parameters may determine the initial trajectory and velocity of the ball after a swing and therein contribute to the path and resting location of the ball.

The real-time feedback may provide the golfer with information that enables him or her to modify his or her stroke to modify the associated swing parameters. The real-time feedback may be provided during the stroke and may include audio stimulation, tactile stimulation, visual stimulation, or a combination thereof.

The real-time feedback may be based on one or more goal swing parameters of a stroke. The goal swing parameters may be the ideal swing parameters for a user of the golf club. The ideal swing parameters may be generated by a machine, user, or golfing expert and transferred to the golf club by any method.

The real-time feedback may be, for example, a tone that changes pitch based on the goal swing parameters. In another example, the real-time feedback may be a vibration that changes rate based on the goal swing parameters.

In one or more embodiments of the invention, the real-time feedback may be based on a difference between measured swing parameters of a stroke and the goal swing parameters of the stroke. For example, the swing parameters of a stroke may be monitored during the stroke and compared to goal swing parameters that were transferred to the golf club before performing the stroke. The real-time feedback may be a tone that changes pitch based on the difference between the measured swing parameters and goal swing parameters during the stroke.

Further embodiments of the invention relate to a golf club that determines the swing parameters of a stroke in real-time. The golf club may include one or more kinematic sensors that generate kinematic data related to the motion of the club during a stroke. These kinematic sensors may be, for example, gyroscopic sensor, magnetometer sensors, and accelerometer sensors. Other sensors may be used without departing from the invention.

The sensors may record data during a stroke of a club and the data may be used to determine one or more swing parameters. The club may also include a computer that determines the swing parameters of the stroke based on the recorded data.

Additional embodiments of the invention relate to a system including a golf club and a computing device. The golf club may be configured to transmit sensor measurements and/or measured swing parameters to the computing device. The computing device may configured to store the sensor measurement and/or measured swing parameters.

FIG. 1 shows a club (100) in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention. The club (100) may be configured to provide real-time feedback to a user and/or determine the swing parameters of a stroke.

The club (100) may include a head (110) and a handle (120). The head (110) may include electronic components (115) configured to measure the swing parameters of a stroke of the club (100) and/or provide real-time feedback in the form of an auditory stimulation. For example, the electronic components (115) may include the kinematic sensors to determine the swing parameters of the stroke and a speaker to provide auditory stimulation as real-time feedback.

The handle (120) may include electronic components (not shown) configured to provide real-time feedback in the form of tactile stimulation and/or visual stimulation. For example, the handle (120) may include one or more vibration generators that transmits vibrations to a user holding the handle (120) as a tactile stimulation. In another example, the handle (120) may include a laser generation source that projects a line on the ground during a stroke as a visual stimulation. The line may be perpendicular to the striking surface, commonly referred to as the face of the club, of the club. Additional details regarding the club (100) are shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the club (100, FIG. 1) and a computing device (400) in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention. The club may be configured to determine swing parameters of a stroke and provide real-time feedback to a user, as discussed above. The club (100) may also be configured to send determined swing parameters of a stroke to the computing device (400). The computing device (400) may be configured to receive, store, analyze, and display the determined swing parameters.

The head (100) and handle (120) of the club (100) may be physically separated and communicate through a first communication module (225) and second communication module (300), respectively. Similarly, the computing device (400) may also communicate with the club (100) through a third communication module (410). The communication modules may be implemented using wired or wireless connections for transmitting data.

The head (110) of the club (100) may include an embedded computer (200). The embedded computer (200) may include at least a processor, memory, and a non-transitory storage including instructions configured to perform the functionality shown in FIG. 3.

Generally, the embedded computer (200) may be configured to receive kinematic data from one or more kinematic sensors and determine one or more swing parameters associated with a stroke. The embedded computer (200) may determine, for example, at least one of the tempo, head path, impact location, and impact orientation associated with the stroke based on the received kinematic data.

The embedded computer (200) may also be configured to determine real-time feedback to provide to a user of the club (100) and send a signal to a feedback module indicating the real-time feedback. For example, goal swing parameters including a tempo may be stored on the non-transitory storage of the embedded computer (200). The embedded computer (200) may determine the real-time feedback to provide to a user of the club (100) based on the stored tempo. The embedded computer (200) may be configured to send a signal to a feedback module, such as an audio module (226), indicating the tempo.

The head (110) of the club (100) may include one or more kinematic sensors (205). The one or more kinematic sensors (205) include one or more gyroscope sensors (210A-210N), one or more acceleration sensors (215A-215N), and one or more magnetometer sensors (220A-220N). Other types of kinematic sensors may be used without departing from the invention. Each of the kinematic sensors (205) may be configured to produce kinematic data corresponding to the motion of the club (100) during a stroke. For example, as the head (110) of the club (100) accelerates during a stroke, the acceleration sensors (215A-215N) may measure the acceleration of the club (100) with reference to the club (100). The kinematic sensors (205) may be configured to transmit the measured kinematic data to the embedded computer (200). In one or more embodiments of the invention, the kinematic data may be related to one or more of the position of the head of the golf club, the velocity of the head of the golf club, the angular velocity of the head of the golf club, the orientation of the head of the golf club, and/or the acceleration of the head of the golf club.

The head (100) may include the audio module (226). The audio module (226) may be configured to receive a signal from the embedded computer (200) and generate an audio stimulation based on the received signal. For example, the audio module (226) may receive a signal from the embedded computer (200) indicating a goal tempo. In response, the audio module (226) may produce a tone based on the received goal tempo.

The handle (120) of the club (200) may include a visual module (227). The visual module (227) may be configured to produce a visual stimulus in response to receiving a signal from the embedded computer (200).

The handle (120) of the club (200) may include one or more tactile modules (310A-310N). The tactile modules (310A-310N) may be configured to produce a tactile stimulation based on a signal received from the embedded computer (200). For example, the tactile modules (310A-310N) may produce vibrations at a frequency based on a signal received from the embedded computer (220).

Thus, the head (110) and handle (120) of the club (200) include sensors to monitor the motion of the club (100) during a stroke and provide a user of the club with audio, visual, or tactile stimulations as real-time feedback during the stroke. Additionally, the club (100) may transmit the motion of the club (100) during each stroke to a computing device (400).

The computing device (400), as discussed above, may be configured to receive, store, analyze, and display the determined swing parameters. The computing device (400) may include a processor (420), memory, display (430) and a non-transitory storage including instructions configured to perform the functionality shown in FIG. 5.

Generally, the computing device (400) may be configured to generate visualizations, based on data received from the club (100), to illustrate to a user of the club (100) information relating to a stroke of the club. The computing device (400) may display these visualizations on the display (430). For example, the computing device (400) may generate visualizations, such as graphs or 3D renderings, of the swing parameters associated with the stroke based on the data received from the club (100). Examples of visualization are shown in FIGS. 4 and 6.

Additionally, the computing device (400) may store data associated with any number of strokes in the memory. The computing device (400) may be configured to statistically analyze the data associated with any number of strokes and produce visualizations of the statistically analyzed data. The computing device (400) may be configured to predict, based on the data associated with a stroke, a projected distance the ball would travel as well as a path relative to the club (100). The computing device (400) may be configured to statistically analyze any number of predicted travel distances and paths and generate visualizations based on the statistical data.

The display (430) may be configured to produce visualizations based on visualizations generated by the computing device (400). The display (430) may be a liquid crystal display or any other display technology as would be known to one of ordinary skill in the art.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart according to one or more embodiments of the invention. The method depicted in FIG. 3 may be used to supply real-time feedback to a user of a club in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention. One or more steps shown in FIG. 3 may be omitted, repeated, and/or performed in a different order among different embodiments.

At Step 3000, real-time feedback is initiated by a club. The club may initiate real-time feedback based on, e.g., a button, on the club, being pushed. Alternatively, the club may initiate feedback based on the detection of motion of the club by sensors. For example, a user may pick up a club which may apply acceleration to the club. The acceleration sensors, disposed within the club, may detect the acceleration and initiate real-time feedback. Real-time feedback may be initiated by other methods without departing from the invention.

At Step 3005, the club determines if adaptive feedback is enabled. For example, the club may include a toggle switch. If the switch is toggled, the club may determine that adaptive feedback is enabled. If adaptive feedback is not enabled, the method proceeds to Step 3010. If adaptive feedback is enabled, the method proceeds to Step 3020.

At Step 3010, the club generates a stimulation as real-time feedback during a stroke if adaptive feedback is not enabled. The stimulation may include audio, visual, and/or tactile feedback. The generated stimulation may be based on goal swing parameters stored in the non-transitory storage of the club. The embedded computer of the club may read the goal swing parameters from the storage and generate a signal based on the goal swing parameters.

The embedded computer may send the generated signal to an audio module, visual module, and/or tactile module. In response to receiving the signal, the audio module may generate an audio stimulation based on the signal. Similarly, in response to receiving the signal, the tactile module may generate a tactile stimulation based on the signal. The visual module may generate a visual stimulation in response to receiving the signal.

For example, the read goal swing parameters may include a tempo. The embedded computer may generate a signal indicating the tempo and transmit the signal to the audio module. In response to receiving the signal, the audio module may generate an audio stimulation based on the tempo. The stimulation may be a tone that changes frequency based on the tempo.

The tempo may, for example, indicate that at the start of a stroke the head acceleration is high, during the middle of the stroke the head acceleration is low, and towards the end of the stroke the head acceleration is high. The audio module may generate an audio stimulation having a corresponding high tone at the beginning of the stroke, low tone during the middle of the stroke, and high tone again at the end of the stroke. Thus, the user may receive an audio stimulation indicating the tempo and therein receive real-time feedback during the stroke.

At Step 3015, the club determines the swing parameters of the stroke. As discussed above, the club includes a number of sensors configured to measure the motion of the club during the stroke. The embedded computer may determine the swing parameters of the stroke based on the measured motion of the club during the stroke. The method then proceeds to Step 3030.

As noted in Step 3005, if adaptive feedback is enabled, the method proceeds to Step 3020. Both Steps 3015 and 3020 proceed to Step 3030. Step 3020 will next will be described and then Step 3030 will be described.

At Step 3020, the club generates a stimulation as real-time feedback during a stroke. The stimulation may include audio, visual, and/or tactile feedback. The generated stimulation may be based on a difference between measured swing parameters during a stroke and goal swing parameters stored in the non-transitory storage of the club.

The embedded computer of the club may read the goal swing parameters from the storage. During the stroke, the embedded computer may continuously determine a difference between measured swing parameters and the read goal swing parameters.

For example, with reference to the example described in Step 3010, the read goal swing parameters may include a tempo. The tempo may, for example, indicate that at the start of a stroke the head acceleration should be high, during the middle of the stroke the head acceleration should be low, and towards the end of the stroke the head acceleration should be high. During a stroke, the user of the club may apply a low acceleration at the start of the stroke. The embedded computer may identify the difference in acceleration as a large difference and send a signal to an audio module indicating a tone having a high frequency should be generated. During the middle of the stroke, the user of the club may apply a low acceleration. The embedded computer may identify the difference in acceleration as small and send and modify the signal sent to the audio module indicating the frequency of the tone should be reduced to a low value. During the end of the stroke, the user of the club may apply a high acceleration. The embedded computer may identify the difference in acceleration as small and not modify the signal sent to the audio module.

Thus, when adaptive feedback is enabled, real-time feedback is provided to the user based on the difference between goal swing parameters and measured swing parameters during the swing. When adaptive feedback is not enabled, real-time feedback is provided to the user base on the goal swing parameters during the swing.

At Step 3030, the club stores the swing parameters of the stroke. The club may store the swing parameters in a memory of the club and/or send the swing parameters to a computing device.

At Step 3040, the computing device may display the swing parameters.

Examples of visualizations of displaying swing parameters are shown in FIGS. 4 and 6.

FIG. 4 shows a computing device (400) in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention. The computing device may include a display (430) for displaying visualizations and a graphical user interface. In one or more embodiments of the invention, the display (430) is touch sensitive and may be used to navigate the graphical user interface. The computing device may also include a number of input buttons (440) for navigating the graphical user interface.

The graphical user interface may include a first selection box (445) for selecting a stored stroke and a second selection box (446) for selecting data associated with the stroke. The data may be any of the swing parameters of the stroke or the raw sensor readings taken during the stroke.

The graphical user interface may also include visualizations (450) for displaying the data. For example, the visualizations (450) may be a first plot (460) of the measured sensor data taken during the stroke such as the measured acceleration. In another example, the visualizations (450) may be a second plot (470) of an ideal sensor measurement, during the stroke, such as the acceleration. The aforementioned visualizations may enable a user to compare any previously performed stroke to an ideal stroke. The aforementioned examples are provided for illustration purposes and are not meant to limit the invention.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart according to one or more embodiments of the invention. The method depicted in FIG. 5 may be used to display information relating to a stroke in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention. One or more steps shown in FIG. 5 may be omitted, repeated, and/or performed in a different order among different embodiments.

At Step 5000, the computing device may receive swing parameters and/or raw sensor data taken associated with a stroke.

At Step 5005, the computing device determines the time of impact based on the received swing parameters and/or raw sensor data taken associated with a stroke.

At Step 5010, the computing device determines the orientation of the club head at the time of impact based on the received swing parameters and/or raw sensor data taken associated with a stroke.

At Step 5015, the computing device determines the location of impact on the club head at the time of impact based on the received swing parameters and/or raw sensor data taken associated with a stroke.

At Step 5020, the computing device generates visualizations of the orientation of the club head during impact with the ball and the location on the club head of the impact with the ball. The generated visualizations may be displayed on a display. Examples of the aforementioned visualizations are shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a computing device (400) displaying visualizations in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention. In FIG. 6, the graphical user interface includes a first visualization field (600) for displaying an isometric rending of a club head and a second field (620) for displaying cross sectional renderings of a club head during. Each rending includes the location (610) of the impact of the club head with the ball during a stroke.

In the second field (620), a first angle indicator (630) and second angle indicator (640) display a measured first angle and second angle of the club head at the time of impact with the ball. The displayed angle indicators may illustrate to a user of the club the difference between a previously performed stroke and an ideal stroke.

While the invention has been described above with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having the benefit of this invention, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A golf club, comprising: a control unit configured to: detect a swing of the golf club, generate a signal based on at least one goal swing parameter during the swing of the golf club, and a stimulation generation module, configured to generate a stimulation in response to the signal, wherein the at least one goal swing parameter is stored in a memory of the golf club before the swing of the golf club.
 2. The golf club of claim 1, where the stimulation is an auditory stimulation.
 3. The golf club of claim 1, further comprising: at least one kinematic sensor configured to generate a kinematic data corresponding to a motion of the golf club during the swing of the golf club, wherein the control unit is further configured to: receive the kinematic data, determine, based on the kinematic data, at one selected from the group comprising a position of a head of the golf club, a velocity of the head of the golf club, an angular velocity of the head of the golf club, an orientation of the head of the golf club, and an acceleration of the head of the golf club, determine at least one swing parameter, during the swing, based on at least one selected from the group comprising the position of a head of the golf club, the velocity of the head of the golf club, the angular velocity of the head of the golf club, the orientation of the head of the golf club, and the acceleration of the head of the golf club, and modify the signal based on a difference between the at least one goal swing parameter and the at least one swing parameter during the swing of the golf club.
 4. The golf club of claim 1, further comprising: a visual stimulation module, disposed in a handle of the golf club, configured to generate a visual stimulation indicating the path of the golf club head during the swing of the golf club.
 5. The golf club of claim 3, wherein the at least one swing parameter is one selected from the group comprising a tempo of the head of the golf club during the swing, a path of the head of the golf club during the swing, an impact location of a ball on the head of the golf club during the swing, and an orientation of the head during the impact with the ball.
 6. The golf club of claim 5, wherein the control unit is further configured to: send, by a communication module, the at least one swing parameter to a computing device.
 7. The golf club of claim 5, where the tempo is an acceleration profile of the head of the golf club during a swing of the golf club.
 8. A method, comprising: generating a stimulation based on at least one goal swing parameter during a swing of a golf club.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: determining at least one swing parameter based on a position, rotation, or acceleration of the golf club during the swing of the golf club; and modifying the stimulation based on a difference between the at least one goal swing parameter and the at least one swing parameter.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one swing parameter is one selected from the group comprising a tempo of the golf club during the swing, a path of the head during the swing, an impact location of the head during an impact with a ball, and an orientation of the head during the impact with the ball.
 11. The method of claim 9, further comprising: generating a visual stimulation indicating a path of the club head during the swing of the golf club.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the stimulation is an auditory stimulation.
 13. A system, comprising: a golf club configured to: determine, during a swing of the golf club, at least one selected from the group comprising a tempo of a head of the golf club, a velocity of the head of the golf club, an angular velocity of the head of the golf club, a position of the head of the golf club, an orientation of the head of the golf club, and an acceleration of the head of the golf club. send to a computing device, by a first communication module of the golf club, at least one selected from the group comprising the tempo of the head of the golf club, velocity of the head of the golf club, angular velocity of the head of the golf club, position of the head of the golf club, orientation of the head of the golf club, and acceleration of the head of the golf club; and the computing device configured to: receive, by a second communication module of the computing device, at least one selected from the group comprising the tempo of the head of the golf club, velocity of the head of the golf club, angular velocity of the head of the golf club, position of the head of the golf club, orientation of the head of the golf club, and acceleration of the head of the golf club; store, in a memory of the computing device, at least one selected from the group comprising tempo of the head of the golf club, velocity of the head of the golf club, angular velocity of the head of the golf club, position of the head of the golf club, orientation of the head of the golf club, and acceleration of the head of the golf club; and display, on a display of the computing device, at least one selected from the group comprising the tempo of the head of the golf club, velocity of the head of the golf club, angular velocity of the head of the golf club, position of the head of the golf club, orientation of the head of the golf club, and acceleration of the head of the golf club.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the computing device is further configured to: determine a at least one swing parameter based on at least one selected from the group comprising the tempo of the head of the golf club, velocity of the head of the golf club, angular velocity of the head of the golf club, position of the head of the golf club, orientation of the head of the golf club, and acceleration of the head of the golf club, wherein the at least one swing parameter is selected from the group comprising a path of a head of the golf club during the swing, an impact location of the head of the golf club during the swing, and an orientation of the head of the golf club during an impact with a ball.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein the computing device is further configured to: display, on a display of the computing device, a visualization comprising the at least one swing parameter. 